CC BY 4.0Madanipoura, Ali2017-10-092017-10-0920172566-214710.24306/TrAESOP.2017.01.003https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14235/854https://doi.org/10.24306/TrAESOP.2017.01.003Transactions of the Association of European Schools of Planning; Volume 1 / Issue 1 / June 2017; page 33-44A trend in the planning discourse tends to portray the local in a positive light. This paper critically examines localism and regionalism, from a theoretical point of view, to find out whether this positive outlook may be maintained. First the ontology of the local is examined, with its substantive, relational and experiential aspects. As a complex, multi-dimensional process, localism is then analysed at the intersection of four dimensions of power: territorial, representational, institutional, and functional. Boundaries are drawn, representations created, relations within and beyond the locality arranged, and functions allocated. The analysis shows a tendency to essentialise the local as a finished, circumscribed, commodified product, at odds with its multiplicity, diversity, inequality, porous boundaries and relational reality. There is also a gap between the definitions and functions allocated to the local in a hierarchical division of labour, relations with intra- and extra-local political and economic forces, and the mythological narratives of autonomy.enopenaccessLocalismpowermultiplicitydecentralisationreductionismarticle33-44